preppersasylum-blog - Tumblr blog

preppersasylum-blog · 8 years ago

Text

Penelope Part 8

It has turned cold, or as cold as it gets in the Southeastern United States. Mayor Peyton Brock was buried a few days ago. A few people went to the funeral, not out of any great love for the man, but because they respected Peyton's position as mayor. He had also served this great nation in the US Marine Corps in the Gulf War. Peyton was given a military style funeral. The small town of Haven did the best they could do under the circumstances to bid a comrade farewell. There were no uniforms, nor was there a bugle playing taps. There was no 21 gun salute. There was only an American flag draped over the coffin. The Military men and women who would have worn uniforms stood at attention during the brief ceremony. As Mike, Sue, Penelope, Joe, Mary and a few others listened to the eulogy, Lieutenant Frazier whispered in Mike's ear. "Mike, don't be conspicuous, but look to your left and out about 20 yards at your 10:00 position. Do you see the person under that tree? I don't recognize him, do you?" Mike strained and squinted while trying not to appear to do so. " No," he replied. " I never saw that person in Haven before. Wonder who he is?" The Lieutenant slowly slipped through the standing mourners until he was beside Privates Hopkins and Madison. Before Frazier could utter a word Private Hopkins said, " Yes, we see him sir. We're on it." As they slowly backed away from the funeral service, trying not to be noticed, they saw that the stranger was doing the same. He obviously wanted to get away while people were still focused on the funeral proceedings. As he got further away from the assemblage, his pace quickened. "God, I must be crazy to have come here," the stranger thought as he hurried away. "What are we going to do now that Peyton is gone? We had a great arrangement. Drugs for food. My God, we are going to starve and DIE!" he screamed in his head. He began to run faster as he neared the thicket of trees at the edge of town. Hopkins and Madison surreptitiously followed, flanking the man as he ran into the forest. They used their military training, coupled with the hunting they had done to survive over the past few months, to remain silent in their pursuit. They had an idea where the man was headed and they moved forward to cut him off.

"Come on Penelope. It's time for a new lesson." Joe grunted as he stood up from the table. "Oh, crap." Penelope thought to herself, "Now what?" But she knew better than to voice those thoughts aloud. "Lesson, what lesson? I did my homework and my chores." "Self Defense. It's time you learned more about being self-reliant. Wouldn't you agree? I won't always be around to protect you. Time is starting to run out," Joe said. "Time is running out?" Penelope asked with concern. "What do you mean?" Joe just smiled. He picked up his backpack and slung it over his shoulder, indicating with a jerk of his head that she follow him. They walked silently side by side for about 10 minutes. He led her to an old building located on the main drag headed out of town. The door was unlocked, but stuck, and Joe had to force it open with his shoulder. As they entered, Penelope's eyes scanned the wide open room, and saw that it was a very old gym. It was dimly lit by the sunlight that found its way through the dirty windows that had been covered with sheets of ripped brown paper to keep out prying eyes. She could see that the past owner of the building had spent little time or money keeping the place clean or maintained. There were jagged cracks in the plaster walls, brown water stains on the ceiling tiles, and dirt that had accumulated in the corners of the room on the ancient floor tiles. She took a deep breath through her nose and could swear that she could still smell the faint scent of sweat and body odor lingering in the air. In the corner she saw a mouse on its hind legs eating some kind of insect. "Oh, gross," she thought as she wrinkled her nose and followed Joe across the room. She saw a bench press, weights, barbells, a falling apart treadmill, climbing ropes, a leg press and in the center of it all, a boxing ring containing suspicious looking stains on the floor. "How did you even know this was here?" she asked. Joe answered with one word "Reconnaissance." Joe strolled over to the area that had a few small dumb bells. "Come over here, Penelope." She walked over to the mat where Joe was standing. "What did you mean before when you said that time was running out?" Penelope asked. Joe did not answer. He grabbed two 5 pound dumb bells and handed them to her. He grabbed two 10 pounders for himself. "We are going to start with twisting exercises. Don't overdo it. Fold your arms to your chest with the weights. That will help to keep your center of gravity stable. Follow my lead. We'll do 20 in each direction," Joe explained. When they were done, Joe instructed her to put the weights down. "Next we will do jumping jacks. We do them to the count of 50. I want you to count out loud." Penelope followed Joe as he started. They had done about 10 when Joe said, " I can't hear you, and I haven't been counting. Let's start over." Penelope rolled her eyes and sighed. "Ok then, 1, 2, 3." Penelope started counting. "Louder." Joe shouted. "....30, 31, 33," Penelope was breathing hard and had trouble shouting. "Stop!" Joe said. "You miscounted. You forgot 32. Let's start over from 1." Penelope had never seen this side of Joe, demanding and curt, almost mean. This was not the considerate and laid back man that she, Mary, Dora, Halle and others saw on a daily basis. By the time she got to 50 this time, she was sweating, barely able to breathe, and almost in tears. "OK, let's take a break, and drink some water. I don't want you to get dehydrated," Joe said. He opened his backpack and drew out a canteen, taking a long drink and then passing it to her. Penelope finally asked why he was doing this, and being so hard on her. Joe explained, "Training is not just about conditioning your body to do more and take more. I want you to become aware of yourself. To know what you are doing. Counting helps you concentrate and keep track of what you are doing. Yelling while exercising allows the lungs to have a better flow of oxygen. Later on, it will be deep breaths while training." Penelope shook her head as she drank thirstily. She once again pressed Joe for the answer to her question. "Explain to me what you meant when you said time is starting to run out?" Joe turned to her with a serious look. "It's time for sit-ups. Have you done them before?" "Yes, of course! We did them in gym class in school," Penelope said. "Good. We'll do them with your knees bent. But I want you to touch your left elbow to your right knee. The next time touch your right elbow to your left knee. Alternate. I'll hold your feet. And do them as fast as possible. Don't quit after 10. I want you to do them till you feel your stomach muscles start to burn. In fact, all the exercises will be that way from now on. It is time to build muscle," Joe explained. The afternoon went by. Penelope curled and pressed 30 pounds of weight. She started out with 150 pounds of weight on the leg press and jogged 1 mile on the treadmill, which was an old manual type, not electric. Joe kept on pushing her hard. "One more, girl, you can do it!" Her body was exhausted and she felt like her legs were going to give out under her. Her clothes were soaked with sweat, and her hands were shaking. "Penelope, honey, you'll be sore tomorrow, so we'll do this every other day. I need you to build muscle. I need you to be able to succeed at hand to hand combat should you ever have to defend yourself. Do you understand?" Joe asked. Penelope shook her head no. "I don't know how to fight," she cried. "Are you crazy?" "That will come next, after you start to tone and harden up." Joe packed up his backpack and they headed home, Penelope dragging along behind him.

Mike and Sue ran into them as they walked down the street. "We were just heading over to your house to talk to you and Mary. We've checked the warehouse inventory and we're coming up short on food items," Mike reported. "It's odd, because we keep good track of what goes to what person. We had enough to supply our group of people for 9 months. We prepared. Everyone pitched in, canning vegetables, fruits, smoking and salt curing meat and fish. How can we be coming up short? We went as far as calculating 2,200 calories per person per day and we prepped for that till the next harvest." Sue added her assessment. "Even with the added load of the soldiers we were fine. They had some MRE's that they have been using for the short term. They haven't even needed our food yet. The bad news is we are short 10 people for 2 months." "Well, how can that be? What the hell happened to our food?" Joe asked angrily. His face got red as he scowled and gritted his teeth. "Settle down Joe, something is fishy here, and we will find out what happened." Mike tried to sound sure of himself. He was one of the few people, besides Mary, who had ever seen Joe's anger. He knows Joe will go through hell to find the answer and deal with the people responsible. Mike always told the others, "Never piss off an Italian from New York!" And he was right.

They arrived at Joe's house. Mary came in from the kitchen as they were coming through the front door. "Well, hello, everyone!" she said with a smile. Joe told them to make themselves at home. "Honey, would you please boil some water for tea? We'll wait for you to join us." Penelope started to leave the room to go rest after what she considered the workout from hell. Her muscles were still quivering from the exertion."Where are you going?" Joe said. "You need to be involved with this so you know what's going on. Haven is your home now. The sooner you find out how things run, the sooner you can help in the decision making." Mary brought in a tray with cups of mint and raspberry tea, as well as cookies. They all settled down at the dining table. Mike and Sue had just started to bring Mary up to speed when there was a knock at the door. "Come on in," Joe shouted. In walked Lieutenant Frazier." I'm sorry to intrude, but you all need to come with me to the jail house. Madison and Hopkins caught the stranger that was at Peyton's funeral. They nabbed him making his way out of town in the woods before the swamp. Seems that this gentleman was Peyton's dealer!" he concluded. Penelope tried to beg off so she could lay down, but Joe insisted that she accompany them to the jail. They all got up from the table, leaving their tea forgotten as they followed Frazier back to town. There, behind bars, they saw a small pale skinned man. He couldn't have weighed more than 120 pounds and stood about 5 foot 6 inches tall, barely taller than Penelope. He had long dirty brown hair. His eyes were frightened, with very visible dark circles underneath, as if he had not slept for a week. His hands and fingernails were filthy, and he stunk of body odor and unwashed clothes. He was shaking from fear. "Tell these folks what you told us," Frazier demanded, as he stood at the door looking through the bars. He grabbed a night stick and banged on the bars, demanding that the man "Start talking now!" The man just kept walking in circles muttering to himself, while he pulled at his own hair, distraught and frantic. "Oh man, without Peyton we'll all die, all of us are going to starve and die like all the other people in the world. Man, oh man. Now I'm caught and I'm going to die, and they won't know what happened to me" he yelled! "I'm sorry, but can someone please explain what's going on?" Mary asked. Frazier started explaining about the stranger he noticed at Peyton's funeral. He asked Mike if he recognized him and Mike did not. Two of his men followed the man. Mike broke in and explained about the missing food. Mostly stocked MRE's and freeze dried items and some salt cured pork butts. All in all, two months worth of food for ten people has gone AWOL, Mike concluded. Pvt. Hopkins continued the story. "This guy was acting squirrely. He was hurrying out of town, and he was talking to himself. Lips moving a mile a minute, but he didn't utter a sound, his arms waving and fingers pointing. We saw where he was headed and we nabbed him in the thicket of trees before you get to the swamp on the north side of town. He squealed like a pig and started to cry, started telling us it was all Peyton's fault. Peyton gave them access to the warehouse by leaving the back door unlocked a few nights a week. The deal was, you give me drugs to ease my pain and I give you food." Joe's face got hard and tight as he listened to this explanation. Mike had seen that look before. "Calm down, Joe," Mike said as he gently grabbed his shoulder. Joe went over to Hopkins and snatched the keys to the cell. He had the door unlocked and was in there with the prisoner before anyone could do anything to stop him. Madison and Frazier tried to follow him, but Joe held up a hand and said with authority, "You need to stop right there." He turned to the man. "What's your name?" The man was shaking with fear. "OK, OK, don't hurt me! It's Jason, why?" Joe looked him in the eye and asked "Jason, is what my people told me true?" "Man, it's all Peyton's fault! He knew we looted a few hospitals as the shit was going down. He had a thirst for drugs, so he cut a deal with us. He traded food for drugs. He said he was in so much pain from the war!" Jason talked at a rapid pace. "You looted hospitals?" Joe asked angrily. "Yeah, you do what you have to do to survive, man! We hit doctor's offices, and drug stores, gas stations, we hit any place we could to get something to trade or barter with. Hell, the government failed us! No more food stamps or welfare checks! We had to do something," Jason whined! Joe grabbed Jason by the throat and shoved him against the back wall of the jail cell, making everyone gasp and move toward him. "You're nothing but a worthless Zombie!" Penelope cringed, and her eyes bugged out. She whispered in Mary's ear. "A Zombie? Is he really a zombie? I can't believe this crap! Now I have to worry about being eaten by zombies??" Mary chuckled even though things were tense. "No, honey, relax. A zombie is a person that will take or steal from you. They don't contribute at all. They are like a human parasite," she explained.

Joe let Jason go and started to leave the jail cell. Frazier and Madison moved away from the door. Joe turned to Jason, and said in a low voice, "You put yourself on this road, you chose it. The outcome will be your fault, no one else's. You don't steal. You especially don't steal from us. Peyton may have been the mayor of this little town, but he did not have the authority to give you Jack Squat! Those provisions belong to the people of this town who worked to provide them! They don't belong to you, and they don't belong to your people. And they definitely did not belong to Peyton Brock!" Joe turned and stalked back to Jason. "Jason, do you know what they did to thieves in the old days?" "N- n- no, sir," Jason answered. Joe looked him square in the eye and said "They cut off the thief's hand." And Joe left the jail, leaving the others staring after him.

Penelope is the intellectual property of Joe Macaluso, Mary Macaluso and Preppers Asylum preppersasylum.com . You may share this story, do not copy and paste in a new document.

#fantasy penelope preppersasylum prepper preppers survival survivalist preppertalk shtf bugout

0 notes

preppersasylum-blog · 8 years ago

Text

Penelope Part 7

As Joe, Mary and Penelope walked along the road to where the soldiers were camped, Joe said “I want you to watch and listen. Do not react to anything that is said. If what the soldiers said last night is true, their story will not change, but if it is fabricated there will be some subtle differences." Penelope agreed to keep quiet. As they entered the park where the soldiers had set up camp, Joe cordially greeted the Lieutenant. “I never got to introduce myself last night. I am Lieutenant Bill Frazier." He stuck out his hand, which Joe shook, as he introduced his wife and Penelope. "Nice to meet you ma'am, miss," the Lieutenant replied back. He was tall and well built, with dark brown hair and serious brown eyes with dark circles under them. He did not look like he had gotten much rest. “Boy, the nights are still hot around here. Not a breeze blowing! I guess you folks are used to it. But when you stick a lot of people in small tents, it can get stifling. So Joe, how big a town is Haven? How many people are staying here?” asked the Lieutenant. Penelope started to answer him but Joe quickly nudged her in the ankle. Then she remembered Joe telling her to be quiet, so she looked down and listened intently. “Why do you ask?” Joe said. The lieutenant began to explain. “Look, it is going to take a while for any of us to feel safe. We don't know if we can trust you guys, just like you don't know if you can trust us! We are all still shocked that we had to fight our own citizens on the way here. We had to kill our own people! Do you know what that does to a person? People were shooting at us to kill, and we are supposed to be on the same side! This is a totally frigged up mess! Excuse my language, ma'am. But God, what has happened to this country? We are being called to fight our way to West Virginia to protect the stronghold of the President of the United States. For what? What is he doing to reassure the people since this all went down?" He began to pace as he was talking, looking down and kicking the ground as he did. Suddenly he spun around and looked at Joe with a piercing stare. "Let me ask you, Joe, what do you believe in?” Joe pondered his answer for a minute before he asked," Are you sure you want to know the answer to that question, Lieutenant?” “Yes sir, I do,” the Lieutenant barked back. Joe looked up at the sky, and around at the town he vowed to protect. “Then here you go. I believe in Family First, and I would lay down my life for any family member. I believe in true friends and would go through the pains of hell for them. I believe in honor. You say what you'll do, and you do it. Because a man or women is only as good as their word. I believe in limited government and for our government to be fiscally responsible. I believe in the Constitution Of The United States and the Bill Of Rights, and I believe in God,” Joe said proudly. "That about sums it up. Just the basics, man." The Lieutenant stood there nodding his head in agreement.

“So where do we go from here?” Joe asked. Lieutenant Frazier called over the men and women of his unit. They all came over from where they had been sitting or standing in the grass, and stood in a straight line at attention. The Lieutenant walked in front of them looking intently at each one down the line. They were a tattered lot, with dusty and dirty clothes, holes in their trousers, dirt on their faces and hands. Dried blood on their clothes showed where they had been injured. Despite their ragged appearance, they stood as one would expect a soldier to stand when being addressed by a commanding officer. The Lieutenant told them, "At ease.” They relaxed with their feet spread and hands behind their back. The first man looked like he couldn’t yet be 20 years old, with short blond hair and a scrape on his left cheek. “Private Derrick, if you could stay here in Haven, would you?” “YES SIR!” the Private stated loudly. Next in line was a red haired woman with an old bloody bandage on her left arm. “Corporal Abigail, if you had the chance...” and before the Lieutenant could complete his question she soundly responded, “YES SIR." The same response came from each soldier, all the way down the line. Joe thought, “Out of the 62 men and women who started out, only the strongest survived. Wow, that is only about a 25% survival rate." He called out, "Hold on a minute, Lieutenant." Joe, Mary and Penelope walked a few steps away, and Joe called to Sue and Mike, asking them to meet at the conference room at City Hall, in 15 minutes. Mike and Sue acknowledged his request with a nod and a wave. Joe went back to where the Lieutenant was standing and said "Please follow me, and bring your troops.”

Everyone walked toward city hall, with the townspeople looking on and whispering among themselves. Joe held the door open until the last person filed into the building. They made their way to the council chamber and conference room, which was a fancy name for the largest room on the first floor, holding a large wooden table that would seat about 10 people. The curtains had been stripped from the windows, because these days everyone wants to be able to see what is going on outside at all times. There is a large American flag standing upright in a holder in the corner of the room. Against the wall is a long, buffet type table, where some of the soldiers lean or sit to observe the proceedings. Out the window, they all see Peyton hurrying from his office across the street. He stumbles on the curb as he sucks deep on a joint, falling to the ground and rolling around like a beach ball before scrambling to his feet once again and continuing to the front door of the building. Joe and the others winced and rolled their eyes at each other, but did not say anything. They all privately agree that Peyton Brock, the Mayor in name only, could not think his way through a 2 hot dog picnic. But they allow him to participate out of respect for his prior title. Peyton noisily enters the room and nudges the lieutenant out of the way to take a seat at the table. He brushes the dirt off his hands, which they can see are scraped from coming into contact with the sidewalk. “What we got going on here?” Peyton slurs loudly. No one answers him.

Joe, Mary, Sue and Mike, are the ones who adopted the town of Haven as their preppers escape, or Bug Out Location. As such, they have unofficially assumed the roles of elders, or the town council. They put a lot of thought into the planning and development of a self sustaining town where people and their families could be safe and secure, fed and sheltered. People tended to ask their opinions before making any changes to the infrastructure of the town, as they seem to have a good grasp of how things will affect the greater good of all the people, and not just themselves. So it is not surprising to anyone that they are the ones assembled to decide whether to allow the soldiers to stay in Haven.

Penelope was standing just behind Joe, with her hand on his shoulder as he sat at the table. He leaned back and whispered in Penelope’s ear, “Sit down over there and listen, and BE QUIET, unless spoken to.” He nudges her towards the rear of the room. He stands to address the group. “Folks, these men and women want to take asylum in Haven,” Joe explained, as he pointed to the soldiers standing against the walls. "The Lieutenant asked each and every one of his troops what they wanted to do. They discussed it over chow last evening and they are tired of the bloodshed. Out of 62 men and women who had to fight for 8 days, shoot their own citizens to stay alive, and watch their own comrades die to make it this far, only 16 of them are left." Joe said. Mike and Sue asked “What do you have to offer to a town that is already limited in what resources we have to sustain us?” The Lieutenant explains that they can offer more protection. They are equipped with six cases of M-4 carbines and about 30,000 rounds of ammo, fifteen AT-4’s, thirteen old style M-79 Grenade launchers, and 3,000 rounds of ammo. Joe's eyes light up when the Lieutenant says he has three MK-19 Auto Grenade launchers and 10,000 rounds of ammo and four Carl Gustav recoilless rifles and 1,000 rounds of ammo, as well as three SAWS with 10,000 of ammo. "With our additional manpower and training we could hold out against almost any threat.” Mary stood up beside Joe. “What are your plans? Do you plan to take over Haven? After all, the country is under martial law.” “No, Ma'am” replied the Lieutenant emphatically. “Do you all agree that the elders are the governing body?” Mike asked. "Yes, sir!" all the soldiers replied in unison. Peyton’s jaw dropped. "What the hell do you mean that the elders are the governing body? What am I, chopped liver??” he asked, as he pulled a handful of pills out of his pocket and swallowed them dry. He stood angrily, knocking his chair over backward. “F__K YOU ALL!!” He pulled the door open so hard that it hit the wall behind it, and he stormed out of the room. Everyone watched him go and did not say a word.

Peyton hurried back to his office across the street, ignoring the inquisitive looks of the townspeople who were milling around outside city hall. The more he thought about who was in charge the madder he got. He went to his safe and pulled out his works, including a syringe, a tourniquet, and a small bottle of liquid. He withdrew some of the liquid into the syringe. With difficulty, he leaned against the back of his chair and used it to apply the tourniquet to his arm with one hand, using the other hand to stick his vein and inject the drug into his system. He visibly relaxed into the chair and closed his eyes. “I'll show them bastards, they can’t survive without me. This place is already starting to fall apart. I'll fix them all!” Peyton muttered to himself.

The meeting continued across the street. Joe reminded the troops that they had taken an oath to protect the constitution, and they would be expected to continue to do so in Haven. Sue said, “If we let you stay, you also need to help around town, not just patrol it. We will become your Clan, your Pack. We all stick together, do you understand?” Suddenly, a loud shot rang out and everyone jumped to their feet and ran outside with their weapons drawn. The Sheriff stood to the right of the door outside the Mayor's office, where they thought the shot had come from. Another officer ran around the back of the building to watch the back door. The Sheriff flung the front door open and entered with his weapon held out in front of him, followed by a few soldiers flanking him. They found Peyton lying face first in a pool of blood on his desk. A Colt .45 was lying on the floor next to him, and a note that was partly covered in blood read “F__K YOU ALL, you won’t make it without me. You are doomed to hell. Your Mayor and Leader, Peyton." The tourniquet was still tied around his arm, and the syringe was on the desk covered in blood. The wall behind his desk was covered with blood that ran down and puddled on the rug.

When the Sheriff came out and told them what had happened, Joe, Mary, Mike and Sue were astounded. None of them thought Peyton had the guts to shoot himself! While they were all standing across the street talking, Penelope sneaked around the edge of the open door to the mayor’s office, her curiosity getting the best of her. She had no idea of the ghastly sight she would see! Her eyes opened in horror, and she quickly ran back outside to puke in the bushes beside the door. Mary saw her exit the building and ran across the street. "Why did you go in there, honey? You should not have seen that!" Mary shook her head, and wondered what could have possessed Penelope to go in that building! Penelope said in a shaking voice, “I don't know why I went in! I wasn't thinking! Oh my God, he had a hole the size of a coffee cup in the back of his head!” Penelope cried and continued to gag as Mary stood beside her, holding her hair out of her face and rubbing her back.

The sky was starting to cloud over by the time the sheriff concluded his investigation and determined that Peyton had committed suicide. Joe, Mike and the Lieutenant walked together, wondering out loud how Peyton had managed to stockpile such a big assortment of drugs in his safe. The Lieutenant said “Let me and a few of my men work on this. That was far too many drugs for one man to accumulate post SHTF. Something is not right about this.” Joe and Mike agreed. "Yeah, we have a gut feeling about this, too. But first we have some unfinished business, lets round up everyone and finish our meeting." Joe walked over to Penelope and Mary, who were sitting on the curb about a block from the Mayor's office. “Is she going to be all right, honey?” Joe asked. Penelope was hunched over with her head resting on her knees as she sat on the curb. She turned her head to speak, but moaned instead. Mary just shook her head at Joe. Color was starting to come back into Penelope’s face. It was not as pale as it had been right after she bolted from the building, but she still looked a little green around the gills. Joe asked her and Mary if they wanted to go home, or go back to finish the meeting. They helped her up and they all walked slowly back towards City Hall. It seemed like it had been days since they had all been sitting in the council chambers.

Back in the conference room, everyone somberly took their seats. The lieutenant assured everyone that they had no desire to take control of Haven. "We no longer know if the country is under Martial Law because nothing is coming out of Augusta or West Virginia. It is dead silent. But other units around the country are banding with locals to help protect safe areas. We decided during the night that Haven could be one of those safe areas. We are few, but we will help you protect and maintain Haven. We will assist in patrolling the perimeter and streets of Haven, along with setting up warning devices outside the perimeter, if that is OK with you folks. We are young and strong, and we would be honored if you let us be part of your community.” Mike, Mary, Sue and Joe huddled for a few minutes and discussed what the next step would be. They turned to the troops and said “There are plenty of homes that have been abandoned, pick the ones you want. There are limited building supplies to make repairs and lumber is in short supply. But one resident, Bill Phillips, has a portable band saw mill and we can cut up trees should we need more lumber. Welcome to Haven!” They adjourned the meeting.

The rain started as the group dispersed. The lieutenant and his troops followed Sue and Mike, who showed them which houses were the best choices. They continued to walk in the rain and pointed to a dozen or more homes. "Like we said, you work out which house you want to live in. If you don’t mind we are heading home to dry off,” Sue and Mike said. The lieutenant thanked them as they walked off toward their home, waving good night. He got his troops on one of the porches. “Sergeant Steel.” The lieutenant said. “Yes sir!” The sergeant replied. “I want you, Corporal Abigail and 2 others to recon the area both inside the perimeter and about 500 yards outside and note any weaknesses. I want 2 others to stand guard over the weapons, equipment and vehicles. The rest of you, pick a house and start to settle in." The sergeant turned and called two men over. "You two are our best at security besides Corporal Abigail. Let’s go!” Sergeant Steel was a fair skinned, brown haired man in his early30’s with a deep southern drawl. The spitting image of your typical comic book sergeant, he looked rough, tough and mean. Over 6 feet tall, he had a lantern jaw and square forehead, with a deep long scar on his left cheek. His eyes were intense and serious. He had a thick neck and a broad chest that tapered to a narrow waist, with arms that looked muscular enough to crush a bear. Corporal Abigail looked like a body builder, able to hold her own against any man her size or even bigger. She had red hair tied back in a ponytail and green eyes, with a wide smile, and she moved gracefully like a cat stalking her prey as she hopped the fence in the backyard and started her reconnaissance. The other two men were Privates Madison and Hopkins, according to the names on their fatigues. Both were skinny but appeared strong. In fact, they were so skinny that Mary wanted to offer them a sandwich or two! They looked like they were no more than 20 years old. One had glasses, they both sported military haircuts. Their trousers were loose, like they had lost weight since they were issued their uniforms. Their eyes looked like they had seen a lot of heartache in the past few weeks. But they both seemed focused on the job at hand and they set out for their assignment with no questions asked.

Joe, Mary and Penelope were drenched to the bone by time they got home. Dora and Halle were happy to see the rest of their pack approach the porch. They know that it is dinner time, and their tails were wagging so fast they were almost a blur. "Why don’t you ladies get into dry clothes, and I will take care of the girls.” Joe said. Dora and Halle stood at the door. They know they have to do their business before they get fed, but it is raining! Halle, in particular, does not like to get her feet wet, so Joe does as he always does and boots her butt gently with his foot to make her go down the steps. She makes a mad dash down and immediately starts back up the steps. Joe blocks her way. “Go Pee,” Joe ordered in a stern voice. She turned around reluctantly and did what Daddy asked.

Mary and Penelope were drying off in the mudroom when Mary noticed a watered down streak of blood dripping down Penelope’s thigh. “You alright, dear?” Mary asked as she pointed. Penelope face turned bright red from embarrassment. "It's my period! I haven't had it since I got here. How embarrassing!" Penelope whispered. “Well, dear, nothing to be embarrassed about. It must be all of the stress you've been under, that will do it.” Mary said. “Do you have any sanitary napkins?” Penelope sheepishly asked. There might be a few in town stashed someplace, but I have no clue where. I guess we will have to do this the old fashioned way.” Mary said. Penelope furrowed her brow. "What does that mean?” "We'll tear up some rags and fold them and use them for feminine napkins. You will have to wash them out. These will not be a throw away item. We have plenty of bleach.” Mary said. Penelope just stared at her. "This just gets better and better," she muttered."I don't guess we have anything for cramps, either." Mary smiled. " I have a hot water bottle. You will be fine." Penelope trudged upstairs to her bedroom and threw herself on the bed. Who ever knew she would have to go back to life in the dark ages? Mary called up the stairs not to dilly dally. They had supper to prepare, and she needed help. They would want to take some extra food to the soldiers until they got settled in their homes. Penelope buried her head in her pillow and groaned. Not for the first time, she wished she would wake up soon and discover this was all a bad dream.

Penelope is the intellectual property of Joe Macaluso, Mary Macaluso and Preppers Asylum preppersasylum.com . You may share this story, do not copy and paste in a new document. This includes any parts of the Penelope Saga.

________________________________________________________________

#shtf #survival #preppers #preppertalk #fanties #fiction #story

0 notes

preppersasylum-blog · 8 years ago

Text

Penelope Part 6

The shortwave radio is Joe's only connection to events transpiring around the country and the world. The largest cities in the world are now controlled by insurgents and gangs. People who stayed behind have no choice but to do the bidding of the Gang leaders or the Warlords. Gangs fight each other for control of any warehouses that have any limited supplies. Armories, police stations, hospitals, and homes in the cities have been ransacked and looted for anything of value. Murder has come to be comon place in the cities, sometimes just because someone said the wrong thing or was in the wrong place at the wrong time. Rats and packs of dogs roam the streets freely, and the smell of death permeates the air. Since all public and city services have ceased, disease is starting to run rampant in the cities. Garbage and human waste fill the streets. The Dollar, Euro and other world currencies have lost their value and now gold and silver are losing their value, too. The only valuable commodities now are food, medicine, or clean water, the vital things to sustain life. The suburbanites fled their homes as the fighting moved out of the cities. The highways, interstates and some back country roads were clogged with abandoned cars and trucks. People in the city now know there is no escape. If you decide to leave on foot you take your life in your hands. The gang leaders force the remaining people to collect the dead and bury them in mass graves dug by hand in the city parks. Terror groups are joining together to become one network, blowing up government buildings and assassinating any government leaders they find in hiding. After finding caches of biological and chemical weapons, terrorists are now threatening to use them in Pakistan to further their quest for nuclear weapons.

It is now day 45 post SHTF.

For a 15 year old girl, the hardest things to get used to are the lack of hot water, no TELEVISION or CELL PHONES, and no air conditioning in the heat of the summer in the south! Penelope has never had to do without so many conveniences, and she has started whining about what she misses on a daily basis. Joe and Mary keep a close eye on her, since this is an experience she never expected and for which she was not prepared. The poor girl never even had gone camping, so she is far out of her comfort zone. So they have to teach her the ways of the prepper.

Penelope is slowly adjusting to life in Haven. "I HATE taking a cold shower!” Penelope whined. “You should be happy you get to take one every few days,” Mary calmly replied. Joe walked in and asked what the commotion was about. “Oh, nothing, she is just being a teenager,” Mary explained. “Well, you will both be happy to hear that I found the supplies to put in a solar hot water heater today,” Joe said proudly! Joe had several hundred feet of ¾” copper tubing and some black paint. He got out the ladder, and hoisted the coil of tubing up to the south side of the roof, rolling it out in a continuous zigzag pattern. He fastened it in place with two hole pipe straps, being careful to seal the holes and not cause a roof leak. He hooked up the cold water supply to one end of the loop, and fastened the other end to the hot water supply at the old hot water tank. He then went back and began to paint the copper tubing black to help collect heat from the sun. As Joe was painting, Penelope popped her head over the edge of the roof. “Whacha doin'?” Penelope asked. “What are you doing up here, don’t you have chores to do?” Joe asked. Penelope replied, “Well mom, I mean Mary, asked me to scoop dog poop out of the front yard, and I saw you on the roof, and this looked like it would be more fun than poop scooping.” She wiped a tear from her eye then chuckled. Her emotions were all over the place lately. “OK, have you ever been on a roof before?”Joe asked. Penelope replied that she hadn't, in fact, this is the first time she had ever climbed a ladder. She admitted it was a bit scary and she started to have second thoughts, but when she got to the top she was proud of herself! Joe went to where the ladder was leaning. In his typical fashion of safety the ladder was tied off at the bottom, and there were three rungs above the roof for safe exit and entry to the ladder or roof. He instructed Penelope on the safe way to get on the roof. “Climb to where your feet are at the 4th rung down from the top. Hold onto the ladder and bend your one leg and place your foot on the roof. That's good, just like that.” Penelope said in a shaky voice, “I'm a little scared, Joe.” Joe reassured her. “It’s fine, you can do this, step right up using your other leg as balance. That’s a girl, now balance with you right hand and swing off. I got you.” “Woo hoo!" Penelope yelled. “I did it. Not sure how I will get down, though!” Joe instructed her to move away from the edge of the roof, and sit down, which she did. “We are up about 25 feet off the ground, so be careful! Look at the view from here.” Joe pointed to the area that used to be downtown, and then to the town park. Penelope found it surreal to view the little hamlet from tree top level. She could see the water tower, the church steeple, the courthouse. She looked out towards the Garden and Farm area. She saw a few people walking on the street. Joe started to tell her more about Haven as he continued to paint. "Haven used to be a cotton mill town back at the turn of the 1900’s. You see that strip of grass where the sheep are grazing between the 2 streets? That is where the railroad used to be before the town started to die because we were sending our textile jobs out of the country. As the industry lost business and finally closed, a lot of people left to find work in other areas to support their families. We lost even more people when the SHTF. They left because they thought that the cities would offer them food, water and government shelters. We don't know what happened to those who left. We lost some older folks that stayed behind. They probably died from the stress, and we buried them over there at the cemetery. The town now has about 250 people left." Penelope could see the road barricades leading into or out of the town, created to control who comes and goes. The swamp land surrounding the town protects it from people sneaking in the perimeter. She could see the stream that she knew they used for a fresh water supply. A little farther out, she could see cattle grazing. Just beyond the trees she could see solar panels, making enough electricity to pump the water and to have just a little light, ceiling fans and refrigeration in the homes in town.

Penelope asked Joe what he was doing and if she could help him. Joe said, “I am almost done building a solar hot water heater, but you can help me paint the rest of the copper tubing black.” As she took the brush he offered, Penelope asked why it was being painted. Joe explained that black absorbs more of the sun's heat. Lighter colors will reflect it. "Winter is not too far off, and cold showers really suck in the winter. We can't have you smelling too bad when you start school!” Joe laughed. “School, we have School?” Penelope never expected this. “Yes, we decided that out of the 50 children that live here we can’t forget about your education. School will be 11 months long. 6 hours a day. History, Math, Science, English. No gym because you all get enough exercise helping around town and on the farms.

“Joe, have you seen Penelope?” Mary yelled from the yard below. “Whoops, we better get down from here before she busts us,” Joe said. Mary came around the corner and looked up, “What are you doing up there, young lady? I gave you a job to do!” Mary huffed. “Oh honey, she is fine, we had a good conversation and she helped me because I asked her to. She will finish her poop scooping in a few minutes.” Joe turned to Penelope and told her to watch him mount the ladder. "I will show you first, and then I want you to do it. OK?” Penelope watched with intensity, absorbing his every movement. Joe got back onto the roof and Penelope mounted the ladder like she'd done it a 100 times. As she started to descend the ladder, she whispered her thanks to Joe, for covering for her with Mary. She heard Mary say “Please be careful, you guys!" With Penelope and Joe safely off the roof, Penelope continued with her chores. Joe went in and turned the water on to the solar hot water heater and bled the return line of air. “I won’t make any promises, but we should have hot water in about an hour, “ He told Mary. “I calculated we have 25 gallons. At night we need to run it into the old hot water tank since that's insulated. And hope it’s warm in the morning. Guess we will have to play with it. And I have an backup plan if it doesn’t work out that way.” Joe grinned, because he always had a backup plan!

Suddenly, the 2 way radio went off, and Joe could hear the voices of the guys at the East Barricade. “We need help here at the eastside, NOW! We have visitors!” The call is heard by 12 men and women, who grab their bullet proof vests and weapons and hustle to the east barricade like they had practiced! They can hear the sounds of diesel engines and the WAP,WAP sound of Jake Brakes as the vehicles slowed down. They all get there just as the first Humvee stops. Several soldiers get out of the vehicles outside the barricade with weapons at rest, but hands ready on the grip and fingers in the trigger guards. John, Joe's friend, who is the main guard manning the gate right now, steps forward. He and his men and women keep their weapons at their sides as well, since there is no hostile action just yet. The other vehicles stop a fair distance from the Hummer. Two more Humvee’s, 3 MTV’s and an old 2 ½ ton truck make up the convoy. “Who is in charge here?” A young lieutenant asked. “We all are,” John replied. “What are you guys doing here?” We need to get through here so we can get to Augusta," the lieutenant explained. The town mayor, Peyton Brock, arrives after everyone else, out of breath and wheezing as he approaches. Peyton is a large gentleman in his 50’s, about 5’11” in height and bald, with a salt and pepper beard. He is always a very nervous type, but especially now that some strangers are at the gate. Peyton has been on the edge of a meltdown since the SHTF. He has been doing any drug he can put his hands on, wired one minute and mellow the next. He is not shy about openly asking for Meth, Pot, Speed, Quaaludes, anything to get him high so he can forget what is happening. If he had not been the incumbent mayor, he would not be in that position now, but the towns people are biding their time before asking him to step down. “He must have a stash somewhere.” Mike says to Joe. “Yeah, he is a basket case. I don’t know why he came here. Hell, I am surprised he doesn't fall over from a heart attack.” Joe said. The mayor pompously walks to the barricade, still out of breath. “Hold on young man, I am the mayor!” he says, as he gasps for air. “I need to get through here,” the lieutenant repeated. The mayor breathed out heavily and asked “Where were you dispatched from and when, young man?" The lieutenant obviously does not like being addressed as "Young Man." He replies rather tersely, “Well, eight days ago we were ordered to Augusta. We were stationed at the new National Guard Armory outside of Daytona. We started as a convoy of 25 vehicles and 62 men and women. This is all that's left. We had to fight our way this far, and against our own citizens! People are crazy now! Forgive us if we seem on edge,” The lieutenant continued, appearing visibility shaken. “Most of St. Augustine was on fire from the gang wars. We had to avoid Jacksonville because of gang battles, and hungry peopletrying to hold us up for our food and supplies. We were never trained to fight our own citizens! Roads were impassable and we lost some fine men and women and vehicles there. Savannah is where we lost the majority of our troops. Now it is just the 16 of us left. Our orders have us regrouping at a bunker in West Virginia, if we can get there. This was the only option that we saw on the map. This road goes through nowhere USA, and not through the cities.” "Hey man, you have any drugs or pharmaceuticals?” Peyton blurted out, causing the other men at the barricade to roll their eyes and look skyward. John interrupted as if the Mayor had never spoken.“Why don’t you guys camp here for the night. It is currently safe, and you can get a good nights rest.” The lieutenant agreed and told his men to stand down. John told the visitors that for everyone's safety they will have to see all of their government I.D.'s before they could open the Barricade and let the troops into Haven. "I hope you understand,” he said to the lieutenant. Mike whispered, “We best be on our guard.” Penelope came out from behind a tree from where she had been watching. Joe saw her approach, and said, “Come on, Penelope. We can watch them from the roof top.” The troops showed their I.D. and the barricade was opened.

Joe and Penelope headed back home. Penelope asked if she could take a hot shower. Joe gave her permission to try it out. She got her things together and went in the bathroom. In the shower, she sighed with relief at the warm water as she washed her hair. Having long hair used to be no problem, but when you can only wash it about once a week in cold water, it was a pain. She thought about getting her hair cut, but it is one of the only things that remain from her old life. She had to leave all her things behind in the car when her Mom was shot, and Joe rescued her. Thinking about her Mom and Dad made her break down in tears. She stood in the shower and cried about her lost life, and the end of her carefree years. She cried over the fact that she had to use homemade soap on her hair, which left it dry and frizzy. She cried that she had no comforts of home, no hair drier, no razors to shave her legs, no lotion to keep her skin soft. She cried until the water got cold, and then got out and put on the hand-me-down clothes that Mary had scrounged up for her when she arrived in Haven. She made sure her eyes were dry and left the bathroom to head down to dinner. She did not want to worry Mary and Joe. They were so kind to take her in like they did, and they were trying so hard to make it work. She reminded herself that she was lucky to have a bed and a roof over her head.

Dinner was potatoes and zucchini from the garden, and pinto beans that Mary had squirreled away when she was prepping. There was no meat because it was not yet time to kill any of the animals. It broke her heart to think of the cows getting slaughtered. She had never really thought about where meat came from before the SHTF. You just picked it up in the grocery store. But after feeding the animals and caring for them for over a month, she was getting attached, which Joe told her not to do. "DO NOT name the animals," he warned. "When it comes time to butcher them, you will be sorry you got attached." She had learned a lot in the month and half she had been in Haven. She learned about feeding chickens and collecting eggs. She learned about cows, and calves, and how Mommy cows have to have a baby to start making milk (duh!), and they have to keep the calves nursing for the milk to continue flowing. She had learned, against her wishes, to milk a cow, which she considered incredibly gross! She learned how to mow the lawn, which they had always had a guy come and do at her house. Joe was teaching her to drive the Blazer (or the Tank, as he liked to call it!). The Tank was still beat up from the gun fight after Joe rescued her, and they had no way to repair it because Joe could not get the parts. Bullet proof windows and Kevlar reinforced parts were impossible to find. But the Tank still felt safe, and even though it was a stick shift, she was doing pretty good. Joe had yet to teach her to shoot, but he promised that was next.

Every day, Penelope first did her share in the gardens, weeding and picking her allotted produce along with Mary. They did it early before the heat got too bad. No more sleeping in! She thought wistfully of the Saturdays when she would sleep until noon. Not anymore. The animals needed to be fed, cows milked, eggs gathered, often all taking place before breakfast! Never in her life had she worked so hard just to eat and live! She realized she had been extremely spoiled before the SHTF. If her mother could see her now, she would get quite a laugh! No more manicured nails and trendy clothes. But it no longer seemed important. Penelope was starting to see that survival was not easy, and everyone had to pitch in to share the work to keep everything going. She was kind of looking forward to school, although she would never admit it to Joe and Mary! It would be nice to be with kids and not be working. School would be easy compared to what she had been doing so far in Haven.

The next morning, after she finished her chores, she asked if she could go over to where the soldiers were camping. Joe said she should wait until he could go with her. He had no idea how smoothly the exodus would be, or if the soldiers would try to take some of their supplies before they left. If they did, there would be a showdown. They might offer them a little food and water to tide them over until they got to the next town, but they could hunt like everyone else! He was sure soldiers had survival training, and they could damn well use their training like all the preppers were. He and Penelope eventually set off for the encampment to see how things were going.

#fantasy #preppers #shtf #penelope #preppersasylum #preppertalk #survival

1 note · View note

preppersasylum-blog · 8 years ago

Text

Penelope. Part 5

Penelope Part 5

Joe looked over at Penelope once again to make sure she had her seatbelt secure. She was still crying and holding Dora tight. Dora looked at Joe as if to say “Daddy, I feel bad for her.” After breaking eye contact with Joe, Dora gently licked Penelope’s face to show that she cared. Joe started to pick up the pace a little, not knowing if there were others with the 3 men who attacked Penelope. He wanted to "Get Out of Dodge" (GOOD) A.S.A.P. so no one could follow them, and careened around a few turns. Luckily for Dora, Penelope was holding her tight. They came out of the shortcut and made a left onto Old Route 28, where Joe continued to accelerate. Penelope could hear the hypnotic Ta-Dunk, Ta-Dunk of the tires as they passed over the joints in the roadway, and it seemed to have a calming effect on her. As Joe continued to pick up speed the tires hummed as they met the pavement. Penelope closed her eyes and concentrated on the sounds, trying hard to forget the bloody scene she had just witnessed, and the fact that she had left her Mother lying on the ground with her attackers. Joe's eyes moved rhythmically from side to side, scanning the terrain looking for trouble. He knew it was a 2 ½ hour drive back to Haven and he not only needed to be careful for himself and Dora, but now was taking responsibility for the safety of Penelope.

Back in Haven, Mary began to make dinner. She had no idea when Joe would be back, but she was hopeful that he would have Penelope and her family with him, so she was planning ahead. As she started to get some fresh vegetables from the icebox, Halle heard the door of the icebox close and the tinkle of flatware in the kitchen. She jumped to her feet from a nap she was taking. Food is her weakness. As Mary stood at the counter cutting up the vegetables, Halle was under foot. Mary took a step and almost tripped over her. “Damn dog, I should have learned after all these years.” Mary said. “Get out of my kitchen!” she scolded Halle. The dog retreated to the kitchen doorway, out from under foot, but still close enough to grab any morsels that might drop to the floor. Halle is a typical standard dachsund, able to sniff out a single molecule of food from 2 rooms away! Her hearing is so acute that she can hear a can open in the kitchen if she is fast sleep in the bedroom. She is afraid to get her feet wet, hates the rain, hates baths, hates to ride in the car, but has more grit than a dog 3 times her size. She would lay down her life to save Joe or Mary. Her bark and growl are as fierce as that of a Rottweiler, so she makes a wonderful watchdog! Mary finished preparing her casserole, and put it away for when Joe gets back. As Mary leaves the kitchen, Halle knows that is a sign that it is safe to enter once again. She sniffs around the floor and finds a few spots where a crumb or a drip of food have fallen. She licks the floor and when she is satisfied she got every molecule, she goes back to her blanket and starts her nap all over again. “Ahhh what a life I have,” Halle thought.

John, who had offered to accompany Joe on his mission to rescue Penelope, stopped by Mary’s to check and see if there was anything he could do. They sat on the porch and chatted a bit. “God, I hate this.” Mary said. “I hate the waiting. I hate not knowing if anything went wrong. Is he OK? I wish I could call his cell phone to see where he is. It is so hard to be out of touch like this, but I know we can't waste energy charging cell phones when all the towers aren't working anyway." She continued to rant, since she had a good listener in John. "What a SNAFU (Situation Normal, All F....d Up) our world has become. But we picked a good place for a Bug Out Location (BOL). In Haven, everyone pitches in to do their share. Hell, at the farm it’s like a 4H club with the kids learning about farming.” John agreed that the next generation of preppers were learning fast, but said he was worried about them forgetting the 3 R’s. "We need to be sure our youngsters learn the trades, and science,” John added, "Just in case." In case we never get to leave Haven they both thought.

The ham radio came to life and both Mary and John went in to listen. A report from Pakistan was being transmitted about a nuclear weapons depot under siege by a terror group. The government forces were holding them off. “Good God Almighty!” John yelled. “If they get their hands on nukes there is no telling what will happen to our civilization, or whats left of it! Crap, it's bad enough that we have to worry about gangs, warlords and zombies! I just never thought it would get this bad.” Mary tried to calm him down. “That is another part of the world at the moment. We don't even know if Pakistan has a delivery system to reach Europe or Asia with a nuclear weapon. I am more worried about here and now. It's only a matter of time before someone stumbles across us here in Haven.” Mary said quietly. “I believe in being a humanitarian, and helping others, but we only have enough stock and food production to feed the people we have now. What will we do if this goes on for months, or even years?"

Joe was driving the Blazer hard and fast. It was only about an hour more to reach Haven. Penelope had finally stopped crying, and Dora kept comforting her as they zoomed down Old Route 28. Penelope asked, “Joe, why did this happen? I mean those men just killing my mother like that.” Joe replied “Lack of law enforcement, lack of food. Hungry people are desperate people. They start to prey on people who are weaker, stealing from them so they can survive. I am so sorry about you losing your mother like that.” As a tear welled up in Joe’s eye, Penelope pointed to the road ahead. “What is that? It looks like the road is blocked.” “Well, it was clear on my way up.” Joe replied. He slowly applied his brakes. “Reach in the console and get the binoculars. Tell me what you see.” Penelope did as she was told. They were about a ½ mile away. "It looks like 2 trucks. OH NO, NOT AGAIN!!” she shouted! “OK, calm down and grab the wheel so I can take a good look,” Joe said. He grabbed the binoculars and focused down the road as they continued to move forward. The trucks were backed into each other across the road, forming an inverted V. Joes engineering mind went into overdrive. If I hit them in the “V” the trucks will spread apart. It doesn't look like there is anything in the beds of the trucks, which makes the back end lighter than the front and easier to push through. “If we turn around there are probably others blocking us from behind.” he said. “DORA. HERE. NOW.” Dora sat on the console and he reached up to grab a strap hanging from the roll cage. He handed it to Penelope. “Quick! Buckle her in, and there is one on the floor behind her, hook that to the “D” ring under her belly,” he ordered Penelope. She did as Joe said. Penelope cried out “What are we doing?” "We are going through, my dear! Hang on! ” Joe answered. They could see two men standing in the road with rifles. “We're going to die!” Penelope cried. “Not today. This is why we have the Tank! ” Joe said as he accelerated. “But they have guns so duck down as far as you can go.” About 100 yards from them the men started to shoot at the Blazer. You could hear the distinct THUD as each round hit the reinforced windows and Kevlar reinforced body. Just as the Blazer was about to hit the men, one jumped out of the way. The other man wasn't fast enough, and was hit at 60+ miles per hour. He flew over the top of the Blazer and his lifeless body landed behind them like a discarded rag doll in the road. Then the impact came. Penelope, Dora, and Joe were thrown forward from the force, but they stayed strapped in. Joe said”You two all right?” Penelope said breathlessly, “I think so.” Dora just looked at Joe with a gaze that said “What the hell was that?” and sat back down. Joe looked in the rearview mirror and saw that those 2 trucks were toast. Out of his peripheral vision he could see movement on a side road coming towards them from the left. Joe pushed the gas pedal to the floor and you could hear the Holly 4 barrel open up to make that distinctive sound of WAAAA. Joe had barely passed the side road when another car turned onto Old Route 28 closely behind him. It was an Old 1990's Cutlass. Two men hung out of the windows pointing weapons at the Tank. They opened fire and again you could hear the THUD as the bullets hit the vehicle from behind. Penelope cowered in her seat, with her head in her hands, as thoughts of the sub-division raced through her head. Dora took it all in stride-she was just panting, oblivious to the disturbance. The chase went on for about a ½ mile when Joe said “I had E Fricken Nuff of this!” He slowed down and let the assailants catch up. “After all a small block V-8 compared to a Big Block 427 is apples and oranges,” he thought. “And this has to end now. We can't let them follow us to Haven.” The outlaws rammed the back of the Blazer trying to force it off the road but the Blazer outweighed the Cutlass. Joe accelerated again as if to try to get away, but then suddenly slammed on his brakes, startling the driver behind him, which caused him to swerve to miss the Blazer and crash into a tree beside the road. Joe, Penelope, and Dora took off, shaken but with no injuries except bruises. “Joe, doesn't it bother you to hurt and even kill people?” Penelope asked, as she stared out the back window of the Blazer. She was startled to see a few bullets stuck in the glass. He replied, “Penelope, it bothers me a lot. It is something I hoped that I would never have to do. I value all life, but anyone that tries to harm my family, friends, or my property will pay a price. I will defend them till my last breath.” Penelope continued “Does that include Dora?” “Absolutely!” Joe said. "She is one of the Girls, she is like my kid, and she is my friend and part of my pack!” Dora strained against her harness, so Penelope unhooked her and she climbed back on Penelope’s lap, thinking “Open the window, girl, let’s put our heads out and enjoy the breeze! Oh, and you are in my spot.”

They are a few miles from Haven. Joe tried to radio in on the 2 way radio, but it must have been damaged in the impact. It is dusk now. The guys guarding the gate can see a vehicle approach and they ready their guns. About a ¼ mile from the barricade Joe flashes what lights are still functional on the Blazer, in the secret code the guys will know. One of them starts the forklift to remove the heavy concrete barricade and allow Joe to enter. He stops far enough away for them to replace the barricade. One of the men comes over to the Tank and says. “Looks like you had a rough trip. Glad you made it back in one piece." As he approaches the house, Halle is napping, but she jumps up and runs to the door. “Got to go out and pee?” Mary asks. Then she hears the rumble of the Blazer and smiles. Mary looks out the door, and sees the doors of the Blazer open. Halle, with her short legs, hops down the steps to go greet daddy! Dora jumps down out of the Blazer and passes Halle as she goes in the house to get a drink. Joe stoops over to pet Halle, and Halle sniffs around Penelope who is standing unsteadily next to the Blazer. Joe puts his arm around Penelope and walks her to the house. “Honey, you remember Penelope. She has had a very rough day. We need to feed her and get her cleaned up.” Mary did not see anyone else, and knows this is not a good sign. She hugs Penelope close and says “Come on lets go get you something to eat.”

Preppersasylum.com

(The Penelope Story is the intellectual property of Joe and Mary Macaluso and PreppersAsylum.com. Shares only are permitted-do not cut and paste into a new document.)

0 U�&fK

#penelope #bugout #prepper #preppers #survival #fantasy

0 notes

preppersasylum-blog · 8 years ago

Text

Penelope Part 4

Mom insisted on checking the locks on the doors of the house, despite Penelope's urging her to "Hurry up, would you?" In the car, Mom put the key in the ignition and the car came to life. The cockpit screen lit up and the car did its self diagnostic check. Penelope glanced at the dashboard and said “We only have half a tank of fuel. Wait, I'll get the gas can from the mower. Dad just had it filled before the SHTF.” Her mother automatically scolded her. “Watch your mouth little girl. I don’t like you using language like that! Go ahead and get the gas can.” Penelope yelled back," I am not a little girl! I am 15 years old! And how can you worry about my language at a time like this? God, Mom!" She put the gas can in the back seat and used the seatbelt to keep it stable. Her mom pushed the button for the garage door. Nothing happened. She tried it again. Still nothing happened. “OH GOD!” her mother shouted “I forgot the power is out! We're trapped!” Penelope calmly replied, “Relax mom, I got this.” She jumped out of the car and pulled the cord for the emergency garage door release, then ran over to the garage door and heaved it open. “You are a pretty smart girl, honey,” her mother said with a smile. Easing the car out of the garage, she waited while Penelope pulled the garage door shut and got in.

Driving slowly through their neighborhood, they were shocked to see that many homes had been vandalized. Windows were broken, furniture was strewn in the yards and papers were blowing down the street. Some homes had graffiti painted on the outside, and the pungent stench of rotting garbage was horrible. They could see some people staring out of their windows with stunned expressions on their faces. A scrawny man was going through a pile of trash, possibly looking for food or something he could trade for food. There were several over turned cars, and a few blackened cars that looked like they had been torched. Penelope and her Mom were very subdued, staring at the destruction in horror.

As they turned out of their neighborhood, Penelope remembered something else that Joe had told her. “Mom don’t take the highway. We have to head south and the back roads will be safer. We have to get on old route 28.” She explained that she had left a note for her Dad back at the house. "I told him we are heading south to get out of the city and away from danger, and that we would follow Old Route 28.” Old Route 28 was only a few miles away.

In another part of the city, an injured man hid in the foyer of a now abandoned apartment building. He had been severely beaten, and slashed across his chest with a knife. His leg was crushed and lay at an unnatural angle. Feverish and in pain, he lifted his head up and looked out the open door, barely able to focus. After three days in hiding, with no food or water, he had little hope than anyone would come along to help him. There were several stinking corpses just outside the door. The stench was unbearable. He watched as dogs circled the bodies and growled at each other. He weakly clutched a stick to beat off the rats and dogs if they got too close. He finally accepted that his death was imminent. As he drew his last breath, he whispered “Penelope, I am so sorry I failed you. I love you.” His head slumped into his chest and his lifeless body slid down the wall. All he had done was try to find a few bits of food and a few bottles of water for his family.

Penelope’s mother drove slowly as they came up to the intersection of route 81. There were no other moving cars on the road, but off to one side were several wrecked cars and a smoldering police car that was over turned and set on fire. After crossing the intersection, she accelerated a bit. The onboard computer screen showed that the engine was now charging the batteries that drove the electric motors of the Prius. She breathed a prayer, thanking God that she did not have to worry about using her spare gas yet. She and Penelope talked quietly about how shocked they were at how a once beautiful community had quickly degraded into a ghetto. Cars on the side of the road had been stripped of tires, doors, fenders, engines, and seats. The windows of the cars were smashed. Some of the cars had blood on the floors. They passed a restaurant they used to go to that sat between the sub-divisions. The parking lot was filled with broken dishes, and the sun glistened off silverware scattered about. Empty boxes and cans blew across the parking lot in the breeze, which also brought the smell of rotting garbage. “God, that stinks!” Penelope said as they accelerated to get away from the smell.

Joe was driving the Tank hard and fast on Route 28. The Holly 4 barrel carburetor was sucking gas as he hit 75 miles per hour. Joe knew the road like the back of his hand, having driven it twice every weekend when he worked in Waynesboro. There were 3 small towns he passed through in a 140 mile stretch. The locals were friendly and he knew some of them. He wondered if they were OK. He was getting closer to the city every minute. Now he had to become even more alert. Slowing down to make the turn, he took a back road that Mary once showed him to avoid traffic. It would bring him through one more sub-division then across route 81, and then it will be a only a few miles to his old neighborhood, and Penelope’s house.

Penelope’s mom passed through the brick entrance to the last subdivision before they hit the main road. She slowed down because it was just as bad as their neighborhood. Deserted cars were parked on both sides of the street. They saw more homes that had been vandalized. There were more broken windows, furniture strewn in the yards, and the pungent stench of rotting garbage hung in the air. “Damn,” her mother said, “will we ever get past that smell?” Penelope snidely muttered, "Now who's swearing?" They were both wide eyed at the changes that had taken place only 14 days after the SHTF. Penelope thought back to her conversations with Joe, and realized that nothing he said could have prepared her for this. In fact, all he ever said was that it would be "hell on earth.” They snaked slowly through the street that went from one end of the subdivision to the other. It was deadly quiet. It was so quiet you could hear the crunch of dirt under the tires of the car. The sky was clear and if it weren't for the stench it would be a nice day. They passed a side street and continued straight. After they passed, a pickup truck pulled out and blocked the road behind them. Mom stepped on the gas but had to slam on the brakes because another car had pulled out in front of them also. The trap was cleverly set because there was no way to get around with the parked cars on the sides of the street. Two men emerged from the car in front of them, and one approached from the truck in back. Penelope saw that they were dirty, unshaven, and mean looking. They were carrying pipes that they were tapping in the palm of their hand. Guns were strapped to their waist. Both Penelope and her mother started to shake from the adrenalin rush as it surged through their bodies. One guy yelled, “Nice car, why don’t you get out so we can talk?” Penelope’s mother would not make eye contact and stared straight ahead looking for a way to escape. “I said get out of the car now!” he yelled as he slammed his club across the hood of the car, making them both jump in fear. “Nice looking little girl you have, I wonder if she is still a virgin?” another creepy man said. “Not for long," laughed the third guy. “OK let's do this the hard way,” the first guy said as he smashed the driver’s side window, reached in and unlocked her door, and grabbed Penelope’s mother, dragging her out of the car. He pushed her against the car, holding her there with his body as the cuts on her face bled freely. The second man reached in across the small car and grabbed Penelope by her hair, pulling her through the car and out the driver’s side door as she kicked and screamed. The third man looked in the back seat and said “Hey guys, look what we have here! Gas, clothes, and even food! We got a nice car, except for the dent you put in the hood, and two beautiful ladies!” The second guy started to rub on Penelope. Her mother yelled “Leave my daughter alone, you pig!” The first guy said, “What did you say, bitch?” In a louder voice, she screamed, “LEAVE MY DAUGHTER ALONE, YOU PIG!” He drew his arm back and hit her hard across the face, making her lip bleed as she struggled to free herself.

Joe eased off the gas as he entered the Sub-division. Dora was riding shotgun as she always did with her head hanging out the window. "Nice thing about Dora is she goes anywhere you want and she never complains,” thought Joe. He started to ease around a corner, and suddenly cut the ignition off as he looked through the shrubbery. He saw that the road was blocked off and there were three men abusing two women. He recognized Penelope’s mothers car, and his heart sunk as he saw it was Penelope and her Mom. The Tank coasted to a stop behind a few bushes.

The men were becoming more violent, and Penelope’s mother became even more defiant. “LEAVE HER ALONE! SHE IS JUST A KID!” She screamed as she lunged at the second guy! The first guy drew his pistol, grabbed Penelope’s mother by the arm and swung her around to face him. She slapped him hard across the face, cutting his face with her nails. Joe heard one shot and Penelope’s mother slumped to the ground. The men started to laugh as Penelope rushed to her mother. Joe had seen enough. He grabbed his .308 FAL, checked the chamber and made sure the safety was off. He called to Dora, who hopped out of the Tank with Joe's backup weapon strapped to her vest. She stayed close to Joe as he crouched into position to get a clean shot. BAM! The first round went off hitting the gunman in the back of the neck. He folded to the ground like a house of cards. BAM! The second shot hit the third guy in the middle of the chest. The second guy grabbed Penelope and pulled her close to him as a human shield. Joe emerged from the bushes and slowly walked forward pointing a Beretta PX4 Storm at the last man standing. Holding Penelope in front of him, the man shouted "I will kill this little bitch, I swear!” Joe kept walking closer. As he got closer, he urged the man to let the girl go. He pointed his Beretta at the man’s head. “What are you some kind of asshole, man? I will blow this bitches head off before you know it.” The man stood at least 6 foot 2 inches tall which gave Joe the advantage. Penelope was only about 5 foot 4, and Joe had a clear shot to his head. Joe continued to walk closer. The two men were now within 20 feet of each other. The man said “Are you fricken nuts?" And before he could complete his sentence a shot rang out and the man fell to the ground dead. Penelope screamed and cried, running for her Mother. "MOM, MOM!" she cried hysterically as she crouched over her mother's still form. “Come on we have to go,” Joe said as he tried to get Penelope to focus on him. She clutched her mother’s lifeless body. Joe grabbed her and dragged her to the Tank. He lifted Penelope into the front seat and fastened her seat belt as she cried hysterically. He whistled and Dora came running. She jumped up onto the floor in front of Penelope, and then onto the seat between Penelope and Joe. Joe asked Penelope “Are you hurt?” She did not answer, just hugged Dora and sobbed.

(The Penelope Story is the intellectual property of Joe and Mary Macaluso and PreppersAsylum.com. Shares only are permitted-do not cut and paste into a new document.)

Part 5 The Road Home

#survival #preppers #preppertalk #shtf #bugout #fantasy #smallbusiness

0 notes

preppersasylum-blog · 8 years ago

Text

The Story of Penelope (continued part 3)

Penelope Part 3

“Mom, what are you doing packing a suitcase? We are not going on vacation,” Penelope shouted. “Look outside! Don’t you see that things are falling apart out there? Grab your meds, some clothes, any food that is left, and let’s get out of here!” Penelope suddenly wondered how she knew what to take, and thought back to that kooky neighborhood "prepper" as everyone called him. She thought for a moment and recalled his name. “Joe, that was his name. Wonder where he is right now? ” she said under her breath. “What did you say honey?” her mother asked. Then Penelope started to remember some of the things that Joe had told her over the years. “Are your parents prepared, Penelope? If the SHTF don’t rely on the government to save you and don’t go to a FEMA camp. Get out of the city as soon as you can because the cities will be the first place that goes bad. Stay in at night. Only pack what you need if you get caught in the city and you have to leave. Travel light.” "God, I wish he was still around," Penelope said out loud. Her mom asked “Who is that, honey?” Penelope replied “Joe and his wife. The people everyone said were kooks and a crazy preppers. The people everyone discounted as NUTS, and none of you would talk to him or his wife, Mary. That’s who,” She shouted. “What they said makes sense now, doesn't it?" Penelope and her mom took a few pillow cases of stuff to their 2003 Totota Prius in the garage. After dumping it in the back seat of the car, they went back into the house for a last "idiot check," as her dad used to call it. Look around carefully for things you may have forgotten. But now a pair of forgotten slippers did not seem important. She recalled Joe's advice when she used to sit on his porch and talk to him. Everyone else avoided them, but she thought they made sense. He said don't forget your important papers, insurance policies, Social Security Cards, driver’s license, passports, extra keys, medicine, medical records. And money, cash money, credit cards won't do you any good. "I guess we have everything," she thought to herself. Once again she wondered where Joe and his wife went when they left town. He only mentioned the name of the place to her once. She wished she had paid better attention!

Joe and his wife saw the writing on the wall, and bugged out to their safe place they called The Other House. It was in a small hamlet called Haven, about 3 hours south of where they lived. It was mostly a farming community where people could survive on what they grew or animals they raised. Some other preppers bought houses there to set up a community of like minded people. Most were part of a small group that carefully screened each other before disclosing the location of the place to others. Haven was the safe place where they could hide while protecting themselves and their loved ones. Everyone pitched in: they helped around town, helped the local sheriff keep the peace, and took turns patrolling the local area. They installed barricades on all the roads that led into town, and armed sentries kept watch over them 24 hours a day to keep out raiders and other undesirables. It is now 13 days since the SHTF. Joe and his friends Jim and Susan sat for a few minutes on his porch, drinking coffee and counting their blessings. They discussed how the world fell apart. First the economy started its downward spiral. Europe started to implode, both economically and with social unrest. Terrorism was on the rise throughout the world. Heads of state were assassinated by Mexican drug cartels. The value of the Euro plummeted, the British Pound and the US Dollar all followed, resulting in hyperinflation and high unemployment. The people became angry and started to riot, and civil disobedience ensued. "And here we are today. Its a good thing we prepared!" The group called it a night and the others headed home. Joe walked in the door with the coffee cups and Mary could see that he was troubled. In a calm voice he said “We made it this far. We have friends, the kids made it here. So I should be satisfied. But that damn little girl Penelope keeps haunting me. I wonder if she and her parents made it out of town.” Mary replied, “Honey, you did what you could. You tried to educate all our neighbors. But they were Pollyannas! Everyone thought you were exaggerating." Joe sat at the table with his head in his hands. “Yeah, but she is just a kid, a damn good kid, and she deserves a chance! Hell, she was the only one that listened to even half of what I was saying!” They sat for a while and listened to the ham radio to see if there was any news. The gangs and warlords were rioting and looting in different parts of the bigger cities. The military and National Guard stopped trying to keep the peace, and pulled out of the cities and just tried to keep things contained. People were trying to leave for the country because of the violence, but many main roads were blocked with everyone having the same idea. Stores were out of food, and supplies could not be replenished tracks were getting hijacked by crowds of hungry people. Because all the workers were getting their families out of town, there was no one to run the basic services, like power stations and municipal water. Joe finally had heard enough. He rose from his chair and told his wife he was leaving to go after Penelope. Gathering food, water, .308 ammo, his AK-47 and FAL, bullet proof vest a few hand guns, he went to the garage to load up "the tank." The tank is a 1970 Blazer with reinforced frame, 6” lift kit, 35” tires, 4 wheel drive, Kevlar reinforced doors and wheel wells topped off with Polycarbonate with Lexan core windows. Powered by a 427 cubic inch engine, it also had dual exhaust and Nitrous Oxide boost. One of the guys stopped by and saw him loading up the tank, and asked what he was doing. “I am going to get that kid I told you about,” Joe told him quietly. His friend replied “Let me get my stuff and I will go with you.” Joe replied, “No, you stay here. We need to keep Haven safe. I will stick to the back roads and I have a route that takes me through Nowhere, USA.” Joe called Dora, his trusty sidekick mutt, to jump in to the front seat. She would stick with him no matter what. He put her vest on and packed her with a backup .380 auto. When they got to the first barricade, he gave a signal so it would be removed to let him through. After he passed through, he glanced in the rear view and saw them move the barricade back in place. He felt good that they followed protocol. He whispered a prayer that Mary would be safe until he got back.

(The Penelope Story is the intellectual property of Joe and Mary Macaluso and PreppersAsylum.com. Shares only are permitted-do not cut and paste into a new document.)

Penelope's Escape Part 4 (stay tuned.)

N��9{$

#shtf #prepper #preppers #survival #offgrid

1 note · View note